Bankman-Fried Charged With FCPA Offense
In December 2022, the Department of Justice announced criminal charges against Samuel Bankman-Fried arising from an “alleged wide-ranging scheme by [him] to misappropriate billions of dollars of customer funds deposited with FTX, the international cryptocurrency exchange [he] founded …, and mislead investors and lenders to FTX and to Alameda Research, the cryptocurrency hedge fund [he] also founded.”
Specifically, Bankman-Friend was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission and commit campaign finance violations.
Yesterday, the DOJ filed a superseding indictment adding a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act conspiracy charge to the criminal charges Bankman-Fried is facing.
Cryptocurrencies And The FCPA: So What?
There are many things that are FCPA relevant, but not all things are FCPA relevant. As to the later, I’ve been asked several times in recent months different versions of the same general question: what is your view of cryptocurrencies and the FCPA?
I suppose if I wanted to I could blast out (like many FCPA Inc. participants often do) an alert or article highlighting the “emerging risks” and or “hidden dangers” of cryptocurrencies and then use this trigger to market Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance services. But this is not what motivates me to write or consistent with my goal of being candid and calling the “balls and strikes” as I see them the regardless of what it may mean for my pocketbook.
Thus, as highlighted below in more detail, my general answer to the above question has been: I don’t really have a view because I don’t think cryptocurrencies – from the standpoint of liability under the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions – present any unique issues.